Financial Literacy Leader Act  Mr. Speaker, the hon. member indicated that a key part to increasing financial literacy would be co-operation among the provinces. When we look at the record of the Conservative government in terms of dealing with the provinces, we have a Prime Minister who will not meet with the provincial ministers as a group.

Financial Literacy Leader Act  Mr. Speaker, I want to pick up on the very last point that my colleague made with regard to the level of household debt in our country. There is no question that the level of household debt has ballooned and this is one of the reasons that undoubtedly prompted the government to say there was a need for greater financial literacy.

Veterans Affairs  Mr. Speaker, let us look at government assistance for veterans' funerals. Serving members of the Canadian Forces get $12,700. Some traditional vets get $3,600. Modern-day veterans get zero. Veterans who earn more than $1,000 a month get zero. It is time that we embrace one veteran, one standard.

Tribute to Veterans  Mr. Speaker, it is said that only a soldier can bear true witness to the nature of war and conflict. This is as true today as it was 95 years ago. For many of us in the chamber today, war and conflict are perhaps intangible concepts. As time passes and we lose more and more of our living links to those wars and conflicts of the past, our understanding will rely more on those stories passed from generation to generation, from family to family, as well as the stories captured in the recordings of our history books and the writings and poems of soldiers.

Veterans Affairs  Mr. Speaker, over the past several days, in response to public outrage over support for the burial of our veterans, the minister bragged that his department did not make any cuts. The blame game is cold comfort for a grieving family struggling to cover the costs of burying our war heroes.

Veterans Affairs  Mr. Speaker, today the Minister of Veterans Affairs unveiled a ribbon. It is easy to see that the minister—

Veterans Affairs  It is easy to see that the minister is focused like a laser on the priorities of veterans.

Veterans Affairs  Yes, Mr. Speaker, it is symbols over substance. When will the minister unveil more funding to help veterans' families with funeral costs?

Veterans Affairs  Mr. Speaker, I fear amid all the applause that the minister may have missed my question, so let us give it another go. Two years ago Veterans Affairs conducted a review of the burial assistance program and the Conservatives chose to ignore it. Today, the minister unveiled a ribbon.

Government Response to Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I would ask consent for the following motion. I move that the House recommend that the Minister of Veterans Affairs strike an independent task force to conduct a root and branch review of the last post fund and provide recommendations to the government on ways to enhance and improve access to funding to help cover burial costs of veterans.

Veterans Affairs  Mr. Speaker, while the Prime Minister tours India in an armoured limousine, the Conservatives are rejecting 66% of all applications made by veterans for help with funeral and burial costs. It is a national disgrace. Would the minister consider appointing an independent panel to review the funding of the Last Post Fund to make recommendations on the appropriate levels of support for our brave veterans when their families deal with their funerals and burial costs?

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition on behalf of constituents in my riding who support the work of the Grandmothers Advocacy Network. The petition indicates that in sub-Saharan Africa, AIDS still remains a killer of young women and children and that access to AIDS medication continues to be a huge problem.

Veterans Affairs  Mr. Speaker, Dennis Manuge fought the Conservatives in court and won on behalf of disabled veterans. RCMP veterans are now suing the Conservatives but the government refuses to even talk to them. Yesterday, our brave Afghanistan veterans launched a class action lawsuit because they are being treated like second class citizens by the government.

Jobs and Growth Act, 2012  Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague from Malpeque for his excellent speech. Some of it sounded familiar. My question for the member relates to economic development on Prince Edward Island. A project that was announced back in 2005 and still has not taken place could have some significant effects to the economy of Prince Edward Island, and he would know that what I am talking about is the construction of a third electrical cable between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, which again is conspicuously absent from any of the economic plans of the government.

Job and Growth Act, 2012  Mr. Speaker, if I could, I will focus in on the cuts at veterans affairs for a moment. There is no question that good paying permanent jobs have a multiplier effect in the community in terms of the economic impact. There was an excellent study done by one Canada's leading law firms, McInnes Cooper, with respect to the economic impact of the job cuts on Prince Edward Island.